PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley volleyball will open the 2015 season at the Rocket Invitational in Toledo, Ohio, Friday and Saturday, where the Braves will face off with tournament-host Toledo along with Youngstown State Friday before concluding the opening weekend of the season Saturday afternoon against Wisconsin-Green Bay.
The trip to Toledo is the first to the Buckeye State for Bradley since taking part in the Akron Invitational in 2011 and the first trip to Toledo, Ohio, since opening the 2007 campaign at the Rocket Classic. A free video stream of Friday's 9 a.m. matchup against host Toledo is available through the Toledo website (utrockets.com), while links to live stats for all three matches will be available through BradleyBraves.com.
Notes | Watch (Toledo Match Only) | Live Stats | Twitter Updates (@BradleySIDLive) | Tickets
The Braves will kick off the year Friday morning with a 9 a.m. (CDT) matchup with tournament-host Toledo. Friday's matchup is the first between the two teams since 2007, with Bradley holding a 3-1 edge in the series with the Rockets. Later that same day, Bradley will square off with Youngstown State at 4 p.m. (CDT). The Braves won the only prior meeting with the Penguins in a tournament hosted by Saint Louis in 2013.
The season-opening tournament wraps up Saturday with a 1:30 p.m. (CDT) contest against Wisconsin-Green Bay. Bradley is 5-1 in the all-time series with the Phoenix, with Saturday's outing marking the first meeting in the series since 2012 at South Dakota State.
Bradley will open a season with a true road game for the first time since 2006 at 16th-ranked Purdue and the Braves will start back-to-back seasons away from home for the first time since 2007 & 2008. Fifteen of the last 20 season openers have been played away from home.
Boasting one of the youngest rosters in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Braves have as many as 10 underclassmen on a roster for the first time since 2003 and the seven true freshmen are the most on the squad since 1999.
Sophomores Taylor Thiele (Aurora, Neb./Aurora) and Jamie Livaudais (Fenton, Mo./Rockwood Summit) led Bradley in kills last season as the Braves had a pair of freshmen with more than 200 kills in the same season for the first time since 1993.
Thiele was the first freshman to lead team in both kills and aces in the same season, along with becoming just the eighth freshman in program history to collect 200 kills and 200 digs. After playing out of position early in the year due to injuries on the team, Livaudais averaged 3.68 kills per set over the final six matches of 2014 and led the team in kills in MVC play.
In addition, sophomore setter Afton Sobasky (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) had the most double-doubles (9) by a Bradley freshman since 2000 and became the only freshman in school history to tally 75 kills, 750 assists, 10 aces, 200 digs and 35 or more blocks.
After the weekend trip to Toledo, Bradley will make its 2015 debut at Renaissance Coliseum; hosting the CEFCU Classic Sept. 4 & 5. The Braves will face Weber State in the team's home opener Friday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. Bradley will take on UMASS-Lowell (11 a.m.) and Manhattan (6 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 5 to wrap up the first of two home tournaments on the schedule.
